What I Love About Wireless Communications

No matter how much you learn about how electromagnetic waves propagate, there can always be surprises. One course instructor said it's "FM - Freakin' Magic"

By their nature, wireless communication devices are untethered, they are what's needed for anything that travels or is in motion and there's an inherent freedom there.

Similarly, wireless communication devices are the technology of choice for anything outdoorsy and in nature. Wires, fibres and cables don't make sense in the wild.

Hedy Lamarr's patent for spread spectrum communications involved hopping from frequency to frequency to prevent messages from being intercepted by the enemy. This patent is still the basis for modern broadband wireless communication and enables these communications to be more resilient against interference and other problems.

Multipath fading is when signals that have travelled from Point A to Point B through different paths (say one in a straight line, and the next via reflected bounces) interfere with one another. Modern receivers use these multiple signals to either help make the transmission more reliable, or even transmit more information for faster data-rates.

Is at the heart of communication theory.

Believe it or not, some effort goes into making cellular (and other) base stations and towers less ugly or at least less obtrusive. User devices like phones also need to be small, portable and attractive.

Radio technology is fundamental to first responders and emergency services.

Fixed Wireless Access is the best way to bridge the digital divide for small and remote communities.

These will rely on wireless connections, so we know the future is bright for advancements in wireless technology.